The varied history and survival to the end of number 50 / 650 / W9 / 515S / 32650 / 10 makes this engine an ideal choice to produce in later liveries. Numbered 32650 in British Railways service this model recalls the first phase of British Railways service with Terriers carrying on their traditional duties on lines where heavier engines were barred and of the Hayling Island branch.
Built as 50 Whitechapel in late 1876, later renumbered 650. Rebuilt to the A1X specification in 1920 and becoming B650 in the initial Southern Railway numbering scheme. The locomotive was sent to the Isle of Wight in May 1930 to replace the first W9, (classmate 75 Blackwall, sold to the IoW Central in 1899) which had been withdrawn due to a broken crank axle in 1927. Now second W9, the former Whitechapel, was named Fishbourne, also receiving the usual IoW enlarged bunker.
Returned to the mainland in May 1936 W9 was transferred to departmental stock as 515S and was the Lancing carriage & wagon works shunting engine at nationalisation. Reinstated to regular service stock late in 1951 the locomotive received its' 'in sequence' number 32650 and worked many of the usual British Railways Terrier duties, inlcluding the well-known Hayling Island branch until closure in November 1963.
32650 was purchased from British Railways for preservation by the Borough of Sutton, the Borough council accepting an offer from the Kent & East Sussex (heritage) Railway to restore her to service on condition she carry the name 'Sutton'. Numbered 10 in a continuation of the K&ESR numbering sequence 32650 arrived at Robertsbridge by rail in September 1964 and along with K&ESR 17 hauled the first public passenger trains on the reopened heritage line in June 1974. Subsequently 10 Sutton also hauled the re-opening trains to Newmill Bridge in 1976 and Wittersham Road in 1978. Overhauled by the K&ESR between 1980 and 1984 Sutton is currently undergoing a further overhaul at the Spa Valley Railway.
Twelve engines remaining with the LB&SCR were fitted with new Marsh designed boilers between 1911 and 1913. The new boilers having longer smokeboxes these locomotives lost the smokebox 'wings' of the original design. Another 4 engines were reboilered after WW1 and these 16 engines being classed A1X, indicating a revised version of the A1 class. 14 passed into British Railways ownership in 1948 along with a single original A1 class engine.
Terriers continued to serve on lines where weight restrictions prohibited larger engines into the 1960s, when the last engines were withdrawn following the closure of the Hayling Island branch in the autumn of 1963.
Ten 'Terriers' have been preserved, including two original A1 class engines and one in Canada! Many of these have been returned to steam on heritage railways.
Model Features:
- Sprung metal buffers and coupling hook with 3-link couplings.
- Diecast running plate for extra strength and weight.
- Firebox glow and flicker effect.
- Etched plates where applicable
- Finely moulded plastic body with many separately added fine details.
- Choice of DCC Ready (21-pin decoder socket) and DCC Sound fitted models.
- Cast, profiled wheels with fine relief and appropriate colouring.
- Tungsten chassis and all wheel pickup.
- Powerful 5 pole skew wound motor with refined slow running control.
- Accessory bag with spares and other added detail.